So automatic vehicles are popular?

[AnthonyH]

I've been watching a new youtuber of late, its a small used car dealer that buys at auction on the cheaper end i.e less than £3k, then repairs them and sells on for less than £5k. He tells the customers which cars he's put a new clutch in, or done paint work etc. because he has his own garage and mechanic on site. So he's showing the good side of used car dealers...and using the videos to pitch his stock. I'd say his business is booming.

Anyway, he says whenever he gets an automatic car on the yard, they are sold immediately. What gives with that? I mean automatic gearboxes are just an extra thing that can wrong!

He's here;

Car UK

My name is Lee a Motor trader based in Cheshire, England dealing in the budget end of the Used Car Market. In my videos I show you around my Used car pitch as we battle to fix and sell budget vehicles to make a profit. I also Visit the auctions buying stock and talk about the used car market...

www.youtube.com

 

[bugsymike]

I think you will find there is a market for small automatics by people who have never got a manual car license, so whilst limited, there is a market.
Personally I am not a fan as auto boxes tend to be more expensive to repair and now with more computer controlled versions even more specialised.
CVT small automatics had a run of failures, but I assume largely overcome as many still being made.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I think that there has always been a strong market for automatics.

My grandparents would only buy autos, American friends who moved here only buy autos, new drivers are tending to only do an auto licence because why bother with the hassle of learning a manual gearbox, this means that there is always strong demand for little autos.

My American friends had a very old Yaris as a first car when they moved here and when they upgraded and sold it, they had people queuing up to buy the Yaris.

 

[porta]

Some cars seem predisposed to be more common as an automatic, and I bought mine to do a job, and relieve my worsening arthritis. I do prefer manual and have loved all my Panda 4x4s, and, if off road, I like to pick my own gear, it’s where the Panda shines…
Both my Cherokee XJ and the wife’s Rengade are autos…tried finding a manual XJ and they’re as common as rocking horse manure.
The Rengade Trailhawk, 2l TD was in the same camp and, as the wife ‘wanted a car yesterday’ we also found the manual option as rare as a vegetarian pork pie in this household. I can confirm that, although the car is absolutely brilliant at doing the job it’s made for, it’s electrickery, with sensors on everything and everything inter-connected, if it throws a wobbly, it’s a nightmare finding the actual fault.

 

[AnthonyH]

I think that there has always been a strong market for automatics.

My grandparents would only buy autos, American friends who moved here only buy autos, new drivers are tending to only do an auto licence because why bother with the hassle of learning a manual gearbox, this means that there is always strong demand for little autos.

My American friends had a very old Yaris as a first car when they moved here and when they upgraded and sold it, they had people queuing up to buy the Yaris.

The only time I owned an auto I bought it by accident. I went to an auction, bid on some cheapie cars and that was the one I got. I was somewhat surprised to find it was an auto and not really surprised when the transmission packed in and it went off to a scrapyard. This is 20+ years ago, so I guess the experience has coloured my view of automatics and i've avoided them ever since.

Some cars seem predisposed to be more common as an automatic, and I bought mine to do a job, and relieve my worsening arthritis. I do prefer manual and have loved all my Panda 4x4s, and, if off road, I like to pick my own gear, it’s where the Panda shines…
Both my Cherokee XJ and the wife’s Rengade are autos…tried finding a manual XJ and they’re as common as rocking horse manure.
The Rengade Trailhawk, 2l TD was in the same camp and, as the wife ‘wanted a car yesterday’ we also found the manual option as rare as a vegetarian pork pie in this household. I can confirm that, although the car is absolutely brilliant at doing the job it’s made for, it’s electrickery, with sensors on everything and everything inter-connected, if it throws a wobbly, it’s a nightmare finding the actual fault.

I googled "CVT" because I've never driven one, they last half as long as a non CVT but seem nicer to drive? There would need to be a payoff for the reduced lifespan, if thats true.

 

[bugsymike]

I have nothing against driving an automatic, though in the old days it was the big Jags etc. as there was a efficiency loss.
Modern autos don't suffer from that.
I remember in the 1970s driving a diesel Austin Cambridge automatic up hill and feeling I could walk faster!
At college we stripped and rebuilt Borg Warner 35 auto boxes as very common type at that time.
In the late 70s I was very impressed with a 1.6 Mazda automatic which performed well.
However as I mentioned re early CVT boxes I know several owners who scrapped their cars with only 60K as not economical to repair.

 

[AnthonyH]

I have nothing against driving an automatic, though in the old days it was the big Jags etc. as there was a efficiency loss.
Modern autos don't suffer from that.
I remember in the 1970s driving a diesel Austin Cambridge automatic up hill and feeling I could walk faster!

LOL, i imagine a modern electric bike could overtake them!

At college we stripped and rebuilt Borg Warner 35 auto boxes as very common type at that time.
In the late 70s I was very impressed with a 1.6 Mazda automatic which performed well.
However as I mentioned re early CVT boxes I no several owners who scrapped their cars with only 60K as not economical to repair.

I looked at the general design of the CVT and wondered if they are designed to fail? Cheaper to build? I mean, what gives if they have a reduced lifespan?

 

[bugsymike]

LOL, i imagine a modern electric bike could overtake them!



I looked at the general design of the CVT and wondered if they are designed to fail? Cheaper to build? I mean, what gives if they have a reduced lifespan?

One of my sisters (she has a full license but easier driving auto in London at the time) had a brand new Ford Fiesta, always dealer serviced, developed a auto fault at 60k miles. She was told £2000 to repair in around 1990, she scrapped the car, first tried VW then has had several Honda Jazz's with CVT trouble free.!

 

[AnthonyH]

The CVT will be mostly fine, i mean there'd be a scandal if they all broke down.

I'm studiously avoiding any Fiat automatics, too many horror stories on here lol.

 

[bugsymike]

The CVT will be mostly fine, i mean there'd be a scandal if they all broke down.

I'm studiously avoiding any Fiat automatics, too many horror stories on here lol.

In the early 1970s I bought a 1965 Chrysler Valiant American car, I sold it cheap as the bands were breaking up in the box and the bits would block the filter so it would lose drive.
Soon after my "best mate" who knew about my problem decided to mention the garage he worked for were agents for Jensen who used the same Torqueflite auto box in the Jensen Interceptor so he could have got it repaired for me cheap!!!!

 

[PuntoHowTo]

The 80s 3 speed autos they fitted to seemingly every Toyota of that era were pretty bomb proof, rarely if at all went wrong.

I think the big Jags and Granadas of that era were all mechanical without electronics and again were all pretty indestructible.

I drove a BMW 3 series auto before I got the golf, I also drove the DSG version of the golf and I didn’t get on with either of them, they didn’t want to change gear when I wanted them too and always seemed to me to be in the wrong gear.

I drove a merc C class which are all auto now and that was good it was just other aspects of the car that let it down.

 

[porta]

The CVT will be mostly fine, i mean there'd be a scandal if they all broke down.

I'm studiously avoiding any Fiat automatics, too many horror stories on here lol.

The Fiat CVTs were a blast, but they seemed better suited to the Panda, the Punto ones killed the cars life. Strangely the Tipo CVT wasn’t as plagued as the UNO/Punto, I’ve no idea why. The Nissan, Ford, Mazda (as rare as hens teeth) also failed often

 

[bugsymike]

The Fiat CVTs were a blast, but they seemed better suited to the Panda, the Punto ones killed the cars life. Strangely the Tipo CVT wasn’t as plagued as the UNO/Punto, I’ve no idea why. The Nissan, Ford, Mazda (as rare as hens teeth) also failed often

Presumably the Ford Fiesta and Mazda 121 both used the 1.25litre engine and CVT box?

 

[porta]

Same box, probably same engine

 

[AnthonyH]

This convo made me wonder about electric vehicles and gearboxes. It seems an EV has a simplfied gearbox? I googled but its kind of unclear what they are?!

 

[PuntoHowTo]

This convo made me wonder about electric vehicles and gearboxes. It seems an EV has a simplfied gearbox? I googled but its kind of unclear what they are?!

EV's don't techinically need any sort of gearbox.

The motor has all its torque from zero RPM all the way through to full RPM, the motor can directly drive the wheels as when stationary there is no need for a clutch or to disengage the drive like with an idling combustion engine.
Some EVs are now coming with 2 speed, to give some slightly better battery performance, but technically speaking you don't need a gearbox as there isn't a power band that you have to aim for to keep the car going. The power band is the full range of the vehicles range from 0-mph to top speed.

Its this simplicity which makes servicing an EV so basic. There is no oil, no air filter, no gearbox or gearbox oil, there is very little to touch on a service.